Zomato-backed Blinkit will only operate in areas where it can deliver in 10 minutes

Albinder Dhindsa, CEO and Founder, Blinkit (previously Grofers).

Zomato-backed Blinkit, previously Grofers, will only operate in locations where it can deliver in 10 minutes and shut down in the other areas, the company said on December 20, a move that underscores the intense competition in the quick-commerce space in the country.

"While we understand 15 minute or 20 minute service would be better than no service, our systems and infrastructure are built solely with 10 minutes (or less) in mind," Albinder Dhindsa, founder and chief executive officer, said in a blog.

Quick commerce, which is defined as the delivery of items under 45 minutes, is the new battlefield as players look to outdo each other by reducing delivery time of essentials to minutes. Quick commerce In India is expected to grow 10-15 times over the next four years to become a $5 billion market by 2025.

"In the near term this call will have a significant impact for our business size and for large number of our customers. We expect this to impact around 75,000of the 2,000,000 daily customers we are serving,” Dhindsa said.

The company has been at the receiving end of a social media backlash for not delivering in the promised 10 minutes. Customers have alleged that their orders were shown as delivered even though they get any delivery.

The company, which rebranded to Blinkit last week, has also started offering express delivery service round the clock. Earlier, the last order deadline was 11 pm.

The rebranding seems to suggest that Grofers will deliver products with the blink of an eye.

The development happens at a time when the company is in talks to raise $500 million in a fresh round of funding from Zomato.

In a recent interaction with Moneycontrol, Dhindsa said the company was doing 1.25 lakh orders daily.

Dhindsa told Moneycontrol last month that 10-minute delivery was not just possible but a must in today’s fast-paced life so that people would have time for more important things.

Blinkit competes with Swiggy’s Instamart, BigBasket, Dunzo and upstart Zepto. Many of the rivals are hoarding capital to compete in the cash-guzzling sector.

Zepto, which recently raised $60 million in its first institutional round of funding, is already in talks to raise $100 million.

Swiggy, which runs Instamart, has also said it will invest $700 million in this segment as it plans to double down on a category that has grown at a scorching pace since its launch in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.